Samantha Edwards Lacy

Director, Strategic
Partnerships & Engagement

Samantha Edwards Lacy serves as the director of strategic partnerships & engagement for Leadership Knoxville, where she oversees development, marketing, communications, strategic partnerships and events.

After several years at Leadership Knoxville, she began a career in corporate sales with IMG, the multimedia rights holder for Tennessee Athletics and began working with community nonprofits, including being a founding board member for Volunteer East Tennessee and the United Way of Greater Knoxville’s Young Leaders Society. These community roles led her to a newly created position with Clayton-Bradley Academy, in partnership with Clayton Homes, to develop an office of community advancement. Samantha also has previous experience in political fundraising, corporate sales and development.

Credentials

• Leadership Tennessee NEXT Advisory Committee, co-chair
• East Tennessee Historical Society, board member
• Leadership Blount graduate, Class of 2019
• Introduction Knoxville graduate, Class of 2017
• Leadership Tennessee NEXT graduate, Class of Spring 2022

Degree

• Bachelor’s degree, political science, University of Tennessee

Fun Facts

• Samantha and her sisters are named after the TV show Bewitched: “My dad was in sales and loved a gimmick.”
• Parrot Head
• Watches UT hype videos to get motivated
• Sixth-generation East Tennessean

Samantha rejoined the Leadership Knoxville team in 2019 and oversees the organization’s signature events, including the Leadership Luncheon and The Big Table. She is a past honoree of the Young Professionals of Knoxville Impact Awards and a graduate of Leadership Blount, Introduction Knoxville and Leadership Tennessee NEXT.

She is the co-chair for the Leadership Tennessee NEXT Advisory Committee and a board member for the East Tennessee Historical Society. She is profoundly grateful to hail from the Tri-Star state. Samantha is married to Andrew Lacy, and they welcomed son, Banks, in 2023 and have a Goldendoodle named Bitty. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, needlepoint, reading and genealogy.